The Years After
by Demonic Angel DA
Summary: What happened in the years after the war. what were cortana and cheif doing...the arbiter, lord hood. their lives and there story afterward.  rated T for swearing and possible future adult references.
1. Chief     Beginings

Preview

"John?" cortana asked casually after he had woken, it had been fourteen years since the Ark, Floating at the mercy of the solar winds. Cortana had remained in stand by until now. She needed to talk and vent some thoughts that had occurred. So she had woken him, just to chat.

"Yes Cortana?" John replied looking at the hologram. Still groggy.

"How long do you think it'll take for the UNSC to find us?" she asked. Obviously with there only being perhaps 5 small frigates when they last saw earth it seemed unlikely they were going to be found for some time. However after fourteen years of rebuilding and with the aid of the shangheli...the elites. Surely by now?

"How long have I been out?" John asked Cortana considering the same things she had.

"Fourteen years" Cortana replied.

"Are you okay" John new full well about AI's short life span. They lived seven years went rampant and then they were shut down John was also hopping they would have been found by now, so he and cortana could enjoy the last of her life together. When they left the ark she only had one and a half years roughly.

"I'm fine, if you referring to my age. I've been operating at at 90% of my usual functions. Ike stand by mode, it gives me one hundred times more time. So ill have about a year left at full capacity " Cortana replied.

"Although I suppose it's possible I don't even know it'll happen."she added thoughtfully.

"I'm glad your okay...I don't know how long it'll take we could be on this ship for hundreds of years..." he looked at cortana and realised even in stand by she could be doomed."

"Can you set my pod to wake me every four years and shut down completely?" John asked.

"Well, I'll need a power source and some parts but yes...I could do it. Why?" cortana replied

"We don't have any clue how long it might take to get recovered, so I'll take over looking after the ship from now on." John asserted.

The two set about scavenging what they could to make the timer. It was a very simple power shut-off device set for four years. Every four years the chief would wake, look around and check data. Then go back into Cryo sleep.  
"Cortana...I..."

"Don't say it John...save it for our rescue day" Cortana replied, she smiled briefly then put a serious face on

"Why are you doing this John?, it's going to shorten your own life." Cortana asked

"Because I have to, Even if it means I'll be dead you'll be able to see things on earth for me, you'll be able to pass on our struggle and the correct story. Accurately. And I l..."he stopped remembering her instructions.

Cortana stared at the suit clad hero for a moment wishing strongly that she could kiss him.

"wake me...when you need me" she said to him then shut off.


	2. Cheif The Madness

Chapter 1.

The madness sets in.

The counter counted onwards it was getting close to its final job, the epitome of it's existence. It's final achievement. It currently read 125,798,391seconds exactly nine seconds away from the 4 years in seconds. Cortana had programmed it exactly and stayed shut down in the whole time. Nothing interesting had happened. For the first 2 years there was silence and then finally there was something happening a meteorite shower pelted the ship for three weeks with no real damage except for one meteorite floating nonchalantly above him, then nothing again. This was the 10th time he had done this. Finally it was time, 125,798,400

John opened his eyes it had been ten years and yet to him it was closing and opening his eyes. He pushed the doors of the pod open and stepped out into the darkness turning his headlamp on, the battery was low. It had actually started dimming after only forty or so years. John made a mental note to remember and buy the same batteries when he got back to earth...except batteries were probably obsolete. Maybe it would be portable fission or something else fancy.

"Chief" John recognised the voice instantly. He turned and smiled inside his helmet when he saw Johnson staring at him.

"Avery...I can't believe your alive. I saw..." John stopped and considered the physical impracticalities of what he was looking at.

"Been on your own for too long chief" Avery noted puffing his cigar and sitting on a floating box.

"yeah seems like it" he replied to his hallucination and John knew it was such, but he didn't want to stop it or question it. It had gotten to the point where he imagined the timer on his Cryo pods thoughts just to amuse himself.  
"How are you John?" Avery asked

"Well I thought I was doing well, then you showed up and now I'm not so sure. I think I might need a mental check." John replied

"Wow, usually all I get is a 'Fine'" Avery remarked

"Johnson...I never said I'm sorry, for your death...for what happened to your body and ...your funeral." John started

"I had a funeral" Avery cut in "Real nice one too, it was for all of us lost on the ark, they even saluted you John" Avery added. John knew that it was himself talking, his own wants and wishes fears and torments.

"Bye Avery" John and the sarge smiled,

"Good, to know your going mad aint it."

John ignored him and made his way to the armoury. He got himself a new torchlight and then did a little extra vehicular activity seeing roughly where they were. There were several planets nearby and it worried John they would get pulled into one. He did a little number crunching and calculated that they were unlikely to hit one but there was Going to be a close call.

He turned to head back to the whole in the ship and spotted something in the distance, it was black steel with a purple tint. It was moving and it was coming close. But the ships beacon had a power failure ten years ago, so He needed to get creative. He pulled himself inside quickly then yanked cortana and stuck her in his helmet with no warning.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" she cried at him

"shut up there's a ship nearby we need an attention grabber now!" he shouted back silencing the shrill voice.

"We could detonate some fusion coils we have in the science lab on deck sixteen" came an instant reply.

John was already outside hoping he might be able to catch it's attention from the outside or jump on possibly. He looked towards the top end of the sip and pushed himself towards it, not holding on any more. Drifting silently through space watching the ship in the distance silently push towards him. It was dangerous but it was quicker and the sight of Avery had unnerved John. He reached science deck and opened a hatch entering quickly,

he grabbed three coils and a pistol pushing the coils out the hatch and then firing at them. The shots barely left the gun. The minus gravity made the pistol useless. John looked around desperately trying to find something useful, Another two magnums some frozen bodies...A plasma pistol! He grabbed the pistol and quickly fired it at the fusion coils creating what he hoped would be a notable hello. He climbed up the hatch and looked outside the ship was turning towards them, it looked vaguely familiar to the elite ships of his time, yet different. The steel was human and the shine suggested alien composites. John had already considered that they were hostile and had considered his capture a thankful release from his current prison. At least he could shoot his way out of an alien vessel. The ship drifted by silently and quietly not even slowing as it passed the Carcass of the dawn.

Chief fired a few desperate shots at the ship in hope it mite bring notice. The shots disappeared against the hull. Nothing was said, he simply climbed back inside the Dawns hull and placed cortana on the holopad again.

"John..." cortana knew something was wrong. There was no ship there.


End file.
